July 29, 2011

Many people have a vision benefit as part of their insurance plan, but don't always take advantage of it. "We're excited to learn about a new free, online tool to promote eye health and optimal sight that was recently introduced by Transitions Optical Inc.," said Dr. Jonathan M. Frantz, medical director at Florida Eye Health with offices in Lehigh Acres. The Healthy Sight Calculator allows users to calculate their risk for eye-related diseases and vision problems, and how much they could save - in time, money and sight - with the right vision care and vision wear through their vision benefit. Results vary based on the user's age, gender and ethnicity, all of which impact risk for vision problems and health issues that can affect the eyes. The new tool can be used by employers to educate their workforce, or accessed directly by consumers at HealthySightCalculator.org. According to Transitions Optical most consumers miss the full picture of what the benefit can do for them - regular eye exams for early detection of eye and overall health problems, an up-to-date prescription to maintain productivity day-to-day, and eyewear features like UV and glare protection to preserve and enhance vision. "The Healthy Sight Calculator helps tell the story of what you could be missing if you don't care for your sight. It's a powerful way to motivate more people to use their vision benefit and get the care they need," Frantz said. The "calculator" takes visitors along a path, helping them understand their individual risk and potential savings, while providing education along the way. Visitors to the calculator can watch a video setting up the importance of caring for their vision, or can skip immediately to entering their demographic information, including age, gender and ethnicity. With each selection, the calculator provides details on how their demographics impact their risk. Users are also asked to enter whether they have health insurance, because the calculator considers this when determining how much the individual could pay out-of-pocket in medical costs for different eye- and overall-health issues. The calculator then provides an overview of the user's risk for 11 vision-related issues in three categories, showing where the user is at higher risk than the national average. Issues covered include: Vision Problems (Trouble Seeing Up-Close, Trouble Seeing Far Away, Eyestrain and Fatigue, Severe Headaches From Light and Glare) Overall Health (Pre-diabetes, Undiagnosed High Blood Pressure) Sections specific to vision problems, eye disease and overall health delve more deeply into risk rates and associated costs - in time and money - that could be avoided for different issues with earlier and proper care. Users can click on each vision issue for more information, including helpful videos and interactive "vision loss" simulations that show what they would miss seeing if facing that issue. The Healthy Sight Calculator then provides a summary of individual results, and offers a customized recommendation for next steps based on each person's results. "The summary can be printed out and shared with your doctor when you come in for your routine eye exam," Frantz said. "We encourage everyone to find out what's covered by their vision plan before they visit us." The calculator indicates that plans should include comprehensive, yearly eye exams and coverage of or discounts on lens enhancements (like photochromic Transitions lenses and anti-reflective coatings) to enhance and protect vision. For more information, call the main office of Florida Eye Health at (239) 418-0999 or visit www.bettervision.net'>www.bettervision.net'>www.bettervision.net'>www.bettervision.net. In addition to the Lehigh office, they are also located in fort Myers, Naples, Cape Coral, and Punta Gorda, in Fort Myers, Naples, Cape Coral, Punta Gorda, and Lehigh Acres.